Individual local authorities have responsibility for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes. Every location at risk is unique and therefore the business case for improving flood resilience will reflect this.

Where a flood protection development may have a significant impact on a European site, then under the Habitats Regulations an appropriate assessment must be carried out by the Local Authority to determine whether an impact on the integrity of the designated site is likely. Should the appropriate assessment conclude an adverse impact on integrity then the Local Authority must apply for a derogation from Scottish Ministers to allow the development to proceed. One of the three tests which must be satisfied under the Habitats Regulations before a derogation is granted is that the development is of imperative reasons of over-riding public interest.

Flood protection schemes are an effective way to improve flood resilience for the design flood, they are not an absolute guarantee that flooding will not occur. Events beyond the design flood are possible and a residual risk will always remain. It is up to individual local authorities to determine what level of protection they deem appropriate considering the impacts of climate change and wider environmental factors in the area of the flood protection works.

Operational matters are ultimately the responsibility of the infrastructure owner, including how their operations may be impacted in the event of a flood.

Where a flood protection development may have a significant impact on a European site, then under the Habitats Regulations an appropriate assessment must be carried out by the Local Authority to determine whether an impact on the integrity of the designated site is likely. Should the appropriate assessment conclude an adverse impact on integrity then the Local Authority must apply for a derogation from Scottish Ministers to allow the development to proceed. One of the three tests which must be satisfied under the Habitats Regulations before a derogation is granted is that the development is of imperative reasons of over-riding public interest.

We have made a commitment, under the Nurture strand of the National Workforce Strategy to support leadership and talent management across NHS Scotland. We know that succession planning for senior roles is an urgent priority to ensure the continuity of service delivery and reform – and that we need to ensure we are also developing our pipeline of future leaders. We further emphasised the importance of this with the publication of Improving Wellbeing and Working Cultures in July, which set out our ambition to enhance working cultures through programmes of work that focus on the pillars of: wellbeing, leadership and equality.

As we face one of the most challenging financial circumstances since devolution, we are focussed on taking forward affordable actions that will have the biggest impact on progressing our priorities. Leadership learning and development will be delivered both nationally and locally, as appropriate, supported by the sharing of good practice and guidance across organisational boundaries. This will ensure that we continue to make appropriate savings while utilising the best of the resources we have to maintain high quality leadership in our NHS.

We continue support leadership and talent development at all leadership levels, delivered nationally by NHS Education for Scotland. This includes onboarding support for new NHS Chief Executives, including executive coaching, mentoring and peer learning opportunities, as well as support for identified aspiring chief executives.

We have looked to ensure best value for money from interventions supporting senior systems leaders, and are launching adaptive learning sets, utilising skilled inhouse staff to facilitate cross system peer learning. We have a range of free to access digital tools and resources that can be used by staff at any leadership level, including senior administrators, to support their personal leadership development.

We are continually reviewing our leadership learning and talent development offerings for leaders, to ensure that we both deliver on the need to make the best value of public money, while still ensuring that critical skills of leadership are continually supported and developed.

At the request of the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Miri McAllan MSP, Scottish Government officials are engaging with Falkirk Council officials on a taskforce to deliver improved flood resilience for Falkirk and Grangemouth. There have been three meetings of the taskforce to date, with the next meeting scheduled for the start of October. The taskforce reports back regularly to the Cabinet Secretary.

Since 2019/20, the Scottish Government has invested, in the pursuance of its Programme for Government commitments, over £19 million across five years to support student mental health and wellbeing in colleges and universities and to help institutions to transition to a more sustainable means of providing mental health support for students. The cessation of this funding – referred to in the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government’s letter – was extensively discussed with the sector, including when transition funding was put in place for Academic Year 2023-24.

Our new Student Mental Health Action Plan, published on 13 September, seeks to move to a mainstreamed approach to student mental health which will help students better access services. The Government will work with NHS Boards, CoSLA, Public Health Scotland and community based providers to join up support that is already available, embedding students’ mental health needs into the wider communities in which they live and study.

The Action Plan recognises the importance of each college and university having a Student Mental Health Agreement in place. To enable this we continue to support NUS Think Positive with £130,000 in 2024-25.

Based on administrative data currently available, detail on the number of exceptions approved by the Scottish Government and public bodies between 1 July 2023 and 31 March 2024 will be published by the end of September on the Fair and inclusive workplaces webpage.

The total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture and solution (1mg/ml) to the NHS in the last year (July 2023 – June 2024), broken down by NHS Board, are presented in the following table. Cost data are complete for all NHS Boards, whereas fees are incomplete as some payment elements are handled locally.

Table 1: Total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture1. Items dispensed in Scotland by NHS Board – July 2023 to June 2024

(a) There are no exemptions to the Fair Work First conditions in public sector grants. There is provision in the Fair Work First policy for limited exceptions where a potential grant recipient cannot afford to pay the real Living Wage to all or part(s) of its workforce and so is unable to accept the standard grant conditions regarding payment of the real Living Wage. There is no provision for an exception to meeting the effective voice condition. Funders may apply flexibility to recognise the different forms of voice that are appropriate for different organisations. The Fair Work First guidance is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/fair-work-first-guidance-2/.

(b) For information on the number of contracts including Fair Work First considerations, I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-28739 on 29 August 2024 and S6W-28738 on 23 August 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government is taking a range of steps to promote awareness of ADHD, often targeted at professionals in healthcare and education settings in order to maximise impact.

The Scottish Government published the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People in 2021. This specifies the standards that all children’s services should follow to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland. Whilst aimed at service providers, it nevertheless serves to promote general awareness of the needs of children with ADHD across NHS Health Boards and Local Authorities.

Additionally, last year, resources on ADHD were published on Education Scotland’s website. These cover the common features, positive traits and challenges of ADHD. This was accompanied by a webinar, attended by over 300 individuals.

As part of our work on implementing Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways, the Scottish Government is working with the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to ensure that Health and Social Care Partnerships across Scotland are equipped to support adults with ADHD.

The Scottish Government provides funding to NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to deliver neurodiversity training resources for staff across agencies, including health and social care, and education. This training is delivered both in-person and via an online learning hub. It equips staff to deliver for neurodivergent individuals, including those with ADHD, across the lifespan. In 2023, at least 1,243 individuals attended webinars that dealt specifically with ADHD across the lifespan, and at least 2,189 individuals accessed the recordings of these sessions at a later date.

As part of our consultation on potential provisions within a future Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, consideration is also being given to the possible introduction of mandatory training on neurodivergence, including ADHD, for public-facing staff in some public services.

The Scottish Government does not currently provide dedicated funding to organisations and services providing post-diagnostic support for adults with ADHD.

However, we know that ADHD often co-occurs with autism. Accordingly, through the Adult Autism Support Fund, we are funding 14 organisations that are providing post-diagnostic support to autistic adults, some of whom will also have ADHD. One organisation, Lochaber Hope in the Highland council area, specifically provides online workshops on Autism and ADHD, as well as a Neurodivergent group for women and non-binary people.

We are also working to ensure that local diagnostic pathways for adults adopt a stepped care model and a neurodevelopmental approach, inclusive of ADHD.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to National implementation Team (NAIT) to support the Health and Social Care Partnerships to develop action plans to introduce adult neurodevelopmental pathways. NAIT will also provide ADHD professional learning workshops and establish adult neurodevelopmental professional networks.